College and Research Libraries Staff Manuals for Reference Departments In College and University Libraries TAFF MANUALS HAVE become recognizedS as a generally useful operating device in college and university libraries. Per­ haps one of the most important influences in this recognition has been the increas­ ing number of married students whose wives work as sub-professional and clerical assistants from several months to four years. The excessive turnover of full-time staff, plus the ever-changing student staff, has necessitated a crash program in orientation procedures and routines if the department's work is to be carried on consistently and successfully. The adage that a new worker does not earn his salary until after one year on the job cannot be true. Unfortunately, the staff manual is not something for which the librarian can make out a request form, and receive some days later. The manual must grow out of the staff and conversely, the staff must grow out of the manual. For some staff members, the process of simply get­ ting routines down on paper will make the department's work . c1ean•r than would many hours of lectures. Writing the manual also provides an excellent op­ portunity for the department to evaluate itself-its organization, policies, routines, and standards of service. A department which understands__i ts_Q_r ganiza tion-the "why" and "how"-will work more ef­ ficiently than a department which oper­ ates on a trial and error basis. In a large system, the manual has an important function in standardizing the work, thereby eliminating error to a large de­ gree. The manual also serves as ~ ter_Erete:r_of the reference department to faculty and staff patrons. Although much has been written about BY BILLIE BOZONE Miss Bozone is Assistant Reference Li­ brarian, Mitchell Memorial Library, Missis­ sippi State University. staff manuals, professional literature on manuals for reference departments per se is meager. Perhaps Mary Barton's mile­ stone at Enoch Pratt has intimidated prospective writers. But that manual, in spite of its excellence, can not be fol­ lowed too closely for a college or univer­ sity reference department. When a reference department con­ cludes that it will compile a staff manual, the first task is "the assignment of work. The department head, in consultation with the assistants, should make an out­ line of all items which will be included. Primarily, the manual should include all operations, procedures, and routines practiced by the department. It should be concise, easily understood, well-illus­ trated with forms and records, properly captioned, and written on a level that can be understood by people who have had little or no contact with a reference department. As much as is possible, un­ explained library jargon should not be used. PAIS has little meaning to the av­ erage college freshman. The department head should then'-'~s­ sign the various i terns, or sections, to the assistants who are most capable of doing them. After the assignments are clear, the assistants should consult all available sources which have something to do with their particular topic. Library Literature is valuable in locating these sources. Other indexes, such as Readers' Guide Industrial Arts Index-Applied Science JANUARY 1961 19 I I I and Technology Index~ Monthly Cata­ log~ and Engineering Index are worth scanning. If possible, other staff manuals should be read. After the staff has satu­ rated itself with material and has made a collection of brief notes, the depart­ ment head should discuss style and form with them before the actual writing be­ gins. Often, the assistants will have found better methods, more accurate proce­ dures, and more efficient routines than the ones in present use. Perhaps some of the routines now in use are needless and could be discarded completely. At this time, decisions should be made to adopt or reject the newer practices. Consulta­ tions with the librarian or director are in order at this point. When all assistants have finished their assignments, the department head should approve and correct the information be­ fore it is typed into the final copy. One last meeting and a final discussion by all the reference department staff members should serve to iron out any wrinkles or inconsistencies which remain. As many copies of the finished manual as are needed should be typed and put in a loose-leaf notebook. This facilitates cor­ rections and additions. Experience has shown that the best way to compile the manual is to treat it in sections, each sec­ tion being numbered individually. This greatly facilitates the use of the index, which should be compiled after the fin­ ished manual is typed. Now the reference department has a staff manual. Each new staff member­ professional, clerical, or student-should be required to read completely the man­ ual during his first week of employment. Thereafter, it should be used as a ready reference work. It should be emphasized in a manual, and personally, that suggestions for revi­ sion are welcomed. The manual should not be taken as a permanent authority, but should be flexible enough to include anything new the department could un­ dertake, without requiring a complete re­ writing. The reference department which has not changed its manual in years may well be stagnant and unimaginative. The following "Table of Contents" from the Reference Department Staff Manual of the Mitchell Memorial Li­ brary of Mississippi State University will ~ serve to show the organization of material by one reference department 1 which used the above procedure to compile its man­ ual: INTRODUCTION A. THE REFRENCE DEPARTMENT Operations and Activities B. GENERAL REGULATIONS Library Hours Library Patrons General Department Policies C. STUDENT AssisTANTS Director's Memo Conditions of Employment Rates of Pay General Duties Student's Time Card D. THE PROFESSIONAL STAFF Qualifications and Educational Require­ ments Hours "Coffee Breaks" Duties Closing the Building E. LOCATIONS Social Sciences and Humanities Reference Room Physical and Biological Sciences Reference Room (floor plans) F. LIBRARY CLASSIFICATION Summary How to Shelve a Book G. THE STACKS "Closed" Stacks Locations H. RuLES FOR THE UsE OF BooKs AND MATERIALS I. RouTINEs Periodicals 1 Attention should be drawn to the fact that this out­ line embraces many functions which may fall into other departments in some college and university libraries. However, Mitchell Memorial Library's reference depart­ ment is subject-divided into two sections, and all bound and current periodicals, manuscripts, government docu­ ments, etc., are attached to these two reading rooms and are handled by the Reference Department. (Continued on page J4) COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 20 remain in the documents section, un­ cataloged for the most part, arranged by UN documents symbols and sales num­ bers. Because of the incomplete coverage in printed indexes, our library catalogers will continue to catalog and classify Kan­ sas and foreign government publications, but most of these will probably be housed in the documents section. We hope, by taking the foregoing steps, to make the complex mass of government publications easier for faculty and stu­ dents to get at, especially on the graduate and serious research level where these difficult materials are needed in quantity. We also believe this move will enable the library to service and control documents more efficiently and economically. TAUBER To AusTRALIA oN PRoJECT Dr. Maurice F. Tauber, Melvil Dewey professor of library service at Columbia University and editor of CRL, will spend March through August in Australia on a Fulbright assignment to assist in a study of the resources of the research libraries of the country. His address will be the Commonwealth National Library, Canberra, Australia. On his way to Australia during February he will visit libraries in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore. He will return in September by way of Europe. Dur­ ing his absence please address any inquiries regarding articles or other matters re­ lating to CRL to his office at Columbia University and they will be directed to the individuals who will carry on the editing of the magazine while he is away. Manuals for Reference Departments (Continued from page 20) Checking in Aids: List of Foreign Publishing Terms List of the Months in French, Ger­ man, I tali an, Portugese and Span­ ish Roman Numerals Listing Missing Periodicals Preparing Periodicals for Binding Preparing Periodicals for Cardboard Covers Making New Periodical Subscription Records Receiving Bound Periodicals from Cata­ loging Circulating Periodicals Reference Techniques Records: Attendance Record Loan Records: To Faculty and Staff To other Departments in the Library To other Colleges and Universities (Interlibrary Loan) To the Bindery To Carrells and Studies Recalling Periodicals or Books Loaned to the University Staff .J. SPECIAL PROCEDURES Mississippi Agricultural Experiment Sta­ tion and Mississippi Agricultural Exten­ sion Service Card Catalog Bibliography of State Experiment Station Publications K. MISCELLANEOUS Elevator Booklift Telephone Supplies L. INTERLIBRARY LoANS General Interlibrary Loan Code, 1952 M. SPECIAL DIVISIONS Government Documents Vertical Files Mississippi and Rare Books Room includ­ ing the Cage Manuscript Collection APPENDIX A. "GUIDE TO THE FACILITIES OF MITCHELL MEMORIAL LIBRARY." INDEX COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 34